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Albinos and UV?

RulinMJT
02-07-2009, 05:45 AM
Hello Everyone. I recall once reading that albino snakes should never be exposed to UV rays due to the lack of melanin makes the ray harmful to the snake. Does anyone know any more about this?

bitsy
02-07-2009, 05:59 AM
It's something I heard once from a person who ran a reputable reptile rescue, so it was an observation rather than anything scientifically proven.

She had taken in a number of Corns with cataracts over the years, and she said the common factors were that they were lighter morphs like Amels and Snows (lacking the darker melanin), and had been kept under UV light. She described it as being akin to putting a red-haired person out in the midday sun without sunblock.

Having said that, I have an elderly Normal (coming up to 21) with cataracts who has never seen UV in his life - they're just a product of old age. So it's not true to say that cataracts in Corns are only caused by UV.

You need to bear in mind that Corns aren't a basking snake and don't need UV. They're most active during times of low or no sunlight (dawn, dusk, at night) and so have never developed the dependency on it that other basking species have (for example, UV is critical for Beardies).

However, whether limited exposure to a low dose of UV could be in some way beneficial to a Corn, is something maybe others can answer. It's not something I feel the need to test for myself, as my lot seem healthy without it and I don't want to take the risk.